England opening batter Zak Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Stokes about the dressing room not being "weak men".
The all-rounder made this message in multiple conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions in recent days that I required," remarked the England leader.
However, following the opener scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he stated: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take everything that is said in the press with some skepticism," he added.
Frank Discussions and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment subsequent to his side were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Before this match, Stokes said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Yet, the Kent batsman asserted the guidance from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their previous three years in charge.
"It's been very positive, the same as always," said the opener. "The focus is on maintaining positivity, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Series Victory
Crawley's dismissal late on Saturday was part of a decisive three-wicket burst by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left the chasing side six down for 207 chasing a notional target of 435.
This means, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to move to an insurmountable 3-0 lead with three matches played.
A loss will extend the English team's drought in Australia to 18 consecutive matches and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series loss.
The current battle will be completed in just 11 days of cricket – after England losing the initial matches in rapid time each.
The last time 1921, when Australia sealed a series win in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined more swiftly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disheartening," said the batsman. "Our goal was to win the Ashes and we're staring down the barrel now."
"There remains significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it like that," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been difficult. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They were the front-runners coming in to it they've proven why."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although the opener's performance in Adelaide likely secures doubts about his short-term future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his position in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 in the team's second innings on Saturday, extending his modest returns versus the old enemy.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
A solitary other English batsman since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has played an equal number of innings in the top six in the Ashes and returned a lower average.
However, Crawley said any suggestion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the press – "and not within the team."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "He has had a good year to be frank."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is noise externally. There is no chat like that regarding Pope amongst the players," Crawley finished.
